Happy 25th Birthday Nicole!!!

Today is my little sister Nicole's birthday. She is now the BIG 25! (Wow, that makes me feel old!!) We celebrated yesterday at our house with the family and ate some of Nicole's favorite food...lasagna and pumpkin pie. Instead of making "real" lasagna, we made a Rachael Ray "fake-out" lasagna which was soooo much easier and faster to make. (Basic idea: cheese filled ravioli, cooked & layered in a baking pan with meat and spaghetti sauce, topped with cheese.) Watching Nicole open presents is soooo different than Brenda opening them...Nicole took FOREVER to open, making sure she got every piece of tape and wrapping paper off before tackling the box. (Brenda on the other had rips stuff off so fast and throws it so that she can quickly get to the gift inside. I think she has opened things in under 8 sec. before...now we use LOTS of tape!) Some of the things Nicole got for her birthday: a few necklaces, a book, a picture for her room, and her 1st ever BSU T-shirt! (she's never really asked for one and I just realized this past week that she was the only family member w/o a BSU shirt...she was VERY surprised!) Below are pictures of everyone, except Parley who was sick and opted to stay home to avoid getting the rest of us sick.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICOLE!!!

The Birthday Girl

We just love the camera!

I'm not sure I know who this goofball is...

A rare picture of Dad

Mom actually smiling!

What a CUTE sister picture!!!

My Angel

Since the conference edition of the Ensign has come out I've been enjoying rereading the talks that were given at conference. I haven't felt good the last few weeks and when I start to get really bad I start feeling down and a little depressed. So to combat my down feelings, I've been trying to do more to have the Spirit with me, have more faith, and try to think positively (kinda hard when you really don't feel good). The other day as I was reading the talk given by Elder Holland entitled "The Ministry of Angels" I was overcome. In fact, I was crying so much that I couldn't read it...so I did the next best thing, I listened to it on the Internet so that I could still cry my eyes out. I loved how he talked about how there are angels still among us, even in a time when the world seems so "dark and dreary." Angels are still sent to help us as they have been throughout the ages. He reminded us that we should be filled with faith and that the Lord will always be there for us. Then he went on to talk about how "not all angels are from the other side of the veil, some of them we walk with and talk with-here, now, every day"! I was once again reminded that I have so many angels in my life that help me every day. One of those angels is my husband. (I do have other angels that are worth mentioning, but I'll save that for another day)


My Angel Husband

I love Curtis SOOOO MUCH! He loves me for who I am as a person. I love the way he tries so hard to provide for me and our family. He wants me to be healthy and have the best medical care that I can get. He makes me laugh when I'm sad or depressed, to help me to feel better because he knows that Laughter is the BEST Medicine! He stays awake with me for 2 hrs in the middle of the night when I'm coughing and am having a hard time breathing (and then goes to work all day while I stay home and sleep...) He feeds me lunch in a hospital bed when I have to be flat on my back. He holds the bucket when I am throwing-up (That is true love right there!!). He prays with me, reads scriptures with me everyday, and makes sure that we have Family Home Evening every week. He honors his priesthood. He makes me want to be a better person. He values my input, my opinions, and my ideas. He listens to me when I need someone to talk to. He helps with ALL the household chores and does the outside ones as well (usually without my help). He supports me in what ever it is that I want to do. He will watch a Disney movie or a chick flick instead of some sporting event because he knows that's what I like and want to do. (Don't worry, I watch sports with him too...) There are so many other reasons why I love Curtis and why he is my angel. But the number one reason is: Curtis is my Best Friend to whom I'm married to for Time and ALL Eternity! I love you Curtis!!!!

Happy Birthday Brenda

Yesterday was my sister Brenda's birthday. She turned 17! (My baby sister is 17 now...holy cow!) On Sunday we went over to my parents house and had dinner and let Brenda open her presents. Of course all she wanted was a BSU shirt...or anything to do with BSU. Her presents included 2 BSU shirts, an Idaho license plate w/her name on it, and a BSU blanket & pillow covers. She was SOOOO excited! (side note: it may look like we spoiled her, but she had to earn the money for the bed stuff by helping do chores around our house. It took her about 4 months to earn enough money for it, but she did it!) After opening presents she immediately tried on her shirts and then wanted to put her new blanket on her bed.

On Monday, her birthday, Sam and I went and bought a small cake and the store and some balloons and took them up to the high school. We delivered the goodies to her in her classroom (the resource room). You should have seen the look on her face...she was on cloud 9! At the end of the day she was able to share the cake with all of her friends in her class. This will be one birthday story that she will talk about for a long time...Happy Birthday Brenda! We love you!

The Birthday Girl

Finally getting to blow out her candles
(her favorite thing to do at any birthday party)

Tagged

I've been tagged by my friend Brenda for Things of 8. Lets see what I can come up with....

8 Shows I love to watch:
-Rachael Ray (the cooking portion of the show)
-The Doctors
-Biggest Looser
-Numbers
-hmmm...I don't even watch these shows religiously because I just don't watch much TV, so I guess I don't have 8 favorite shows...

8 Favorite Resturants:
-Olive Garden
-Red Robin
-Panda Express
-Mongolian BBQ
-Mona Lisa (this is a once a year place, but ohhh sooo Good!)
-Applebee's
-Casa Mexico
-Johnny Corino's

8 Things that Happened Yesterday:
-Studied for my Social Work Licensure Exam
-listened to the BSU game on the radio
-went grocery shopping w/Curtis
-Scheduled my SW Exam!!! (Nov. 17th is the big day!!)
-talked to each of my sisters on the phone (it may sound unusual, but I usually only talk to one of them on the phone each day, not all 3)
-did the dishes
-"Smoked" aka-breathing treatments
-kissed my husband

8 Things I am looking Forward to:
- Having my Social Work exam DONE!
-being a Mom
-spending time with family during the holidays
-having our car paid off
-gaining weight & not loosing it
-the elections being over
-going on a date with my husband
-helping to make someones day better than it was

8 Things I Love about Fall:
-watching the leaves change color
-eating pumpin pie
-drinking hot chocolate
-cuddling with my husband to keep warm
-cooler temperatures
-General Conference
-watching BSU football
-all of the holiday dinners w/family

8 Things on my Wish List:
-To have at least 1 day where I don't cough
-to NOT have carpet in our dinning room
-good health insurance
-getting our carpets cleaned
-to have flowers in our "rock" beds
-to have a cure for CF
-to be able to run a marathon (this won't happen until I get to heaven...watch out everyone!)
-for everyone around me to be happy

It's Finally Official!!!

We now have documented proof that we have both graduated from BSU. Curtis' diploma arrived in the mail this past weekend. Yahoo!!! The Master's degree if FINALLY done!

Curtis' Masters Degree

Sara's Bachelor's degree



Both of them side by side

For some reason they need to make the Master's degree larger...Rude! I think it's because the Masters degree holders have a big head and think that they are smarter. Yes, Curtis may be smarter than me in some areas, but there are things that I'm better at then he is. Oh well, if I really wanted a Masters degree I know that I could go back to school and get it. The truth is, I worked long and hard to get my bachelor's degree and I DON'T want to go back to school anytime soon. (I choose to live rather than be sick in the hospital while going back to school and dealing with the stress of a Masters degree.) I'm just happy to have the paper in hand that shows all my hard earned work. I'm also extremely happy that Curtis is done with the thesis after the many hours and years of work that he put into it. Next step, both of us getting licensed in our profession.

Family Birthday Fun

Today is my Mom's birthday and Wednesday is my brother's birthday, so we had a family birthday dinner at our house yesterday to celebrate. Here are some cute and funny pictures that we took. (I'm sure you can guess who had the camera....Sam!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

The Birthday Girl

The Birthday Boy

Nicole, Sam & Brenda (aren't they cute!)

Can you tell we are sisters?

Brenda wanted to join in the fun too...

Parley & Sam goofing off...

Save the Family

I got this in an email earlier this week. I personally don't go to YouTube a lot, but this is a really good video. I was very touched by the message of this song. Please take time to watch it and pass it along to everyone you know.

On YouTube, things spread like wildfire across the Internet. To get our message out about the importance of families and marriage, Joy Lundberg and Janice Kapp Perry have created a song called, 'Save the Family' which we have produced into a powerful music video. It's best to view it on high quality.
Click below to see it and feel the magic and importance of families.
Spread the word that 'Family is the beating heart that keeps the nation strong.' Let's act on our convictions and tell the world that family doesn't get in our way. It is the way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1GRQGc5GQ0

I LOVE my family!!!

They're My Team!!!!

So those people who know me personally know that I am a sports junkie. I really enjoy healthy competition and really enjoy watching a well-played game of pretty much any sport (baseball, football, basketball, hockey, soccer, Frisbee, cricket, lacrosse....). I also have three teams that I refer to as "my team." They are any sports team from Boise State (My Alma mater and hometown school/team), the Chicago Cubs, and the Carolina Panthers.

I have pretty much followed the Cubs since I was old enough to know what baseball is and how to play it. I have vivid memories of watching the Cubs play with my Grandpa Hasfurther when I wasn't even old enough to start kindergarten. I remember memorizing all of the starting players' names on the 1983 and 1984 Cubs and I remember very well having the Cubs get my hopes up every year, only to have them crushed sometime before the middle of October (when the World Series starts....). I've seen them get eliminated in the playoffs five different times (I was in Brazil the other time they made it and could not watch or listen to any of the games, of course), and I've always kept my optimism (Does that make me technically insane????). I've stuck with them through the years because...well...they're my team. Every time they collapse, I look forward to following the next year and hope desperately that next year will finally be "the year."

Boise State has always been my team because, let's see, my dad graduated from there, my mom went there for a couple of years, I grew up in Boise, my brother graduated from there, my sister got her first degree from there, I have two degrees from there, I met my wife there and she just graduated from there....(you get the idea). I have lived and died with them for years (especially basketball and football). I've watched the football team endure the painful "streak" of defeats to the Vandals (most of which were close games), watched them break the streak and play for a 1-AA National Championship in the same year. I watched them change from a good 1-AA football program playing in a 16.000-seat stadium, all the way into a perennial top 25 football team with a stadium twice that size (and still growing). They have held their own in the highest division of college football, and are only the second mid-major school to appear in (and win) one of the prestigious BCS bowl games. I've attended more basketball games through the years than I can count, and I have vivid memories of watching Chris Childs, Arnell Jones, Tanoka Beard, Roberto Bergesen, Gerry Washington, Abe Jackson, Reggie Larry, and many others play in a packed basketball arena and regularly challenge for (and occasionally get) a NCAA tournament bid.

As for the Carolina Panthers, they have officially been my team for just a little over a week... :o)
I was making fun of my co-workers' teams (the Raiders, and the 49ers) when they said I had no room to make fun of their teams unless I chose a favorite NFL team to stick with. I promptly chose the Panthers and continued my teasing, all in good fun, of course.... ;)
I actually have followed the Panthers for awhile and rooted for them to make it to and win the Super Bowl a few years ago, so my choice was not really a "spur of the moment" thing, per se. Anyway, I've rambled a little too long. Just wanted to let any readers know a little more about some of my favorite things....

The Place I'd Like to Visit

And you think Niagara Falls is cool...(I have been there and think it's pretty cool). This place caused First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to exclaim "Poor Niagara." Iguazu Falls (spelled slightly different in Portuguese, but you get the idea....) is located where Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay all come together. Not only is Iguazu Falls taller than Niagara Falls (269 feet tall in some places, but 210 feet tall on average), but the series of waterfalls spans 1.67 miles from end to end, and is composed of a system of over 270 individual waterfalls!! Of all the places I'd like to visit in the world, this is probably at the top of my list. Read more about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguazu_falls

Getting to Know Curtis....

10 yrs ago I was:
1. Eating beans and rice every single day.
2. Sharing the Gospel in Portugese with the Brazillian people.
3. Hoping my beloved Cubs would make the World Series (still waiting.... :( )
4. Trying to figure our where I wanted to go to college.
5. Thinking about what nerdy profession I wanted to go into (Can't spell geek without EE)

5 things on my "to do" list today (well, actually tomorrow since it's late at night):
1. kiss my wife
2. Go jogging for 30 minutes
3. Go to work
4. Mow and fertilize the lawn
5. Change the lineup for my fantasy football team

5 things I'd do if I was a millionare:
1. Buy my parents a new house
2. Go on a vacation with Sara to Brazil or Italy
3. Donate to the CF Foundation and Jimmy V Foundation (for cancer research)
4. Reseach and invent something that would make a meaningful contribution to mankind
5. I'd be rich (to quote the Barenaked Ladies' song)

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Fruit Leather
2. Fruit Snacks
3. Chips and Salsa
4. Beef Jerky
5. Anything with chocolate

5 jobs I've had:
1. Salesman
2. Picture framer
3. Math Tutor
4. Engineering reseach assistant
5. Electrical Engineer

5 places I've lived:
1. Carbondale, Colorado
2. Boise
3. Campinas, Brazil
4. Rio Claro, Brazil
5. Meridian

Getting to know Sara

So my sister-in-law put this on her blog and I thought that it would be fun to put on our blog as well. Here are my responses to some questions. (Curtis' will come later...)

10 yrs ago I was:
1. a senior in high school
2. having fun with all high school friends
3. thinking about going to Ricks College
4. the most wanted babysitter in my Ward
5. had better lung function

5 things on my "to do" list today:
1. kiss my husband
2. do breathing treatments
3. yoga
4. study for the social work licensure exam
5. make dinner

5 things I'd do if I was a millionare:
1. Buy Grandma & Grandpa Ward a new home & a brand new car
2. go on a vacation with Curtis to Brazil or Italy
3. finish all of our house projects
4. save money for children's education
5. Donate to the CF foundation & the Idaho Food Bank

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. dried apples
2. Peeps!!!!
3. Hot Tamales
4. home-made smoothies
5. Junior Mints

5 jobs I've had:
1. Nanny
2. Daycare floater
3. Textbook Conversion Processor
4. a sister & a friend
5. (soon to be) PSR worker

5 places I've lived:
1. Heaven
2. Idaho Falls
3. Boise
4. Kuna
5. Meridian

I'm personally an Eyring guy....

Just wanted to give a couple of thoughts that I had on this recent General Conference. Like Sara, I also thought this was an awesome conference session. I took a ton of notes from all of the sessions so I can review them in the coming weeks before the conference edition of the Ensign arrives and I get to read the talks all over again.

Through the years, I've always enjoyed speakers in conference that quote the scriptures often, but throw in just the right mix of personal experiences that relate to the topic at hand. In my opinion, the personal experiences make it easier for me to relate to the talk and apply it to my life. That's why I've always enjoyed listening to talks given by President Hinckley, President Monson, and Elder Hales.

I have to admit, when President Eyring was first made an apostle I didn't really get drawn into his talks. For some reason, I just had a hard time paying attention to his talks. That was the case until a talk that he gave in conference back in 2001 entitled "Watch With Me." To this day, that is probably my favorite talk I've ever heard given in any meeting. The stories he related about a Deacons Quorum Presidency and an Elders Quorum President and their challenges in "watching over their flocks" just really touched me deeply and made this talk something I remember vividly ever since the first time I heard it. As I work with the Deacons Quorum now, I remember that talk as I watch these boys do such a great job in their responsibilities.

Anyway, the talk President Eyring gave in the Priesthood session really touched me. The talk was about the Lord helping us to fulfill our Priesthood responsibilities and making up for our shortcomings. He talked about how he was called into President James E. Faust's office soon after he had been called as an apostle and President Faust and he were going over a few matters of business. Elder Eyring was thinking that President Faust may have some important advice for him, maybe a few "pointers" that would be useful for him to know as a new apostle. Near the end of the conversation, President Faust said something like "Oh, by the way, if you have any questions for me about your office, don't ask me. Take it up with Him..." and he pointed upwards. President Eyring said that as he sits in that same office now, he often looks upward and remembers that important advice given to him. I hope to be able to apply that advice to myself in my calling, and to be a better husband, friend, colleague, etc.

I love Elder Wirthlin!

Yesterday as we were sitting and watching General Conference I realized that I chose the best name for a blog. Elder Wirthlin (who is the only apostle that I have personally met and shaken hands with...) talked about learning from the difficult times. "Come what may and love it!" He talked about an antidote for adversity "LEARN TO LAUGH" He went on to say, that anger and resentment rarely result when you remember this important antidote. The best part was when he said that "Laughter extends life and makes it more enjoyable!" How true that is!!! (Between Shasta, Curtis & Sam, I'm constantly laughing...I should live a long time!!!)

I always say that Laughter is the Best Medicine! Laughter helps me when I'm feeling down and it helps me get through the hardest days. People often ask me how I get through having such a "horrible" disease (Cystic Fibrosis) and I often say that without humor I wouldn't be able to deal with it at all. True, having "hurricane forced coughing attacks" everyday, taking a bunch of medication, and contantly going to the doctor is not fun...but I have fun with it. For example, I "smoke" everyday (my doctor tells me that I need to do it (breathing treatments) to live...); I often "shoot up" (my IV medication); I "drink" (everyone needs to drink water & other liquids everyday to live); and I take "drugs" (at least 10 different kinds of pills everyday and 3 different inhaled meds). Anyway, finding humor in things helps in so many different ways. I'm sure that our blog will be filled with many different funny things. Hopefully you will enjoy laughing with us! Remember, Laughter is the Best medicine!

Jumped on the Bandwagon!!!

We've finally jumped on the blogging bandwagon and started our own blog. Look forward to a number of profound and insightful posts from Sara and some goofy commentary from yours truly!!!